-Caveat Lector- 1 Dead, 500 Sick in E.coli Outbreak By JESSE J. HOLLAND .c The Associated Press ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Nearly 500 people have been sickened and one child died in the largest E. coli outbreak in state history - and possibly one of the worst nationally - health officials said Thursday. The outbreak of the deadly bacteria at the Washington County Fair, about 35 miles north of Albany, was likely caused by the contamination of the fair's water. Health officials said the water supply may have been tainted when rainwater washed over cow feces from a cattle barn on the fair grounds and ran into an underground aquifer tapped by the fair's wells. Additionally, officials were worried that the contamination may have spread beyond the Greenwich fair. A fair worker who sold sausages might have taken three gallons of tainted water with her to use for coffee, lemonade and frozen treats at the Rensselaer County Fair in Schaghticoke, state Health Commissioner Antonia Novello said Thursday. Novello said no cases of E. coli had been connected to the Rensselaer fair, one county to the south. By Thursday, 497 people had been treated at hospitals for E. coli symptoms, Novello said. Eighty-five case have been confirmed as E. coli poisoning, she said. A child, 3-year old Rachel Aldrich of Clifton Park, succumbed to the Greenwich outbreak. Tests showed that one of the wells at the Washington County Fair was infected with E. Coli bacteria. Health officials also think that a deadly strain of E. Coli, 0157:H7, also came from that well, but they have yet to find any traces of it. The well is near a cattle barn and the ground around it had been dug up for the installation of two new wells. Heavy rains in late August could have driven E. coli contaminated cattle manure into the well, Novello said. It is possible that health officials will never find the deadly strain since the first tests for E. coli were done Sept. 3, four days after the fair ended, said Donald Dixon Despommier, a microbiology professor at Columbia University's School of Public Health. ``It's like closing the barn door after the horses are already gone,'' he said. Tests on the well in June showed no contamination, health officials said. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
